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Contaminated Land

Planning Requirements for Contaminated Land

If you are a

property owner

developer

architect or

surveyor

and want to know what information you should submit to our Planning department when you want to apply to re-develop, or significantly change the use of a piece of land, which could potentially be contaminated, please read our "Land Affected by Contamination" guide.

Inspection Strategy for Contaminated Land

We have some information on sites of potential concern gathered from old editions of ordnance survey maps. Landfill is indicated, for instance, where gravel pits shown on old maps now no longer exist. The maps also show information relating to many old polluting processes some of which may have caused contamination to their sites such as former gas works. This information does not, however, provide a complete record.

All local authorities are required to inspect their area "from time to time" for the purpose of identifying contaminated land. We adopted a strategy in 2000 setting out how land, which merits detailed individual inspection, will be identified and prioritised for investigation. This strategy can be downloaded here: Contaminated Land Strategy

There are four possible grounds for determining land contaminated:

significant harm is being caused

there is a significant possibility of significant harm being caused

pollution of controlled water is being caused

pollution of controlled waters is likely to be caused

Information relating to action that we take to bring any land to a condition that does not pose a risk of harm, if any, will be stored on a public register. If the site is to be developed, this will usually be achieved through the planning process otherwise we must try to trace the original polluter who is then liable.

New owners

If you buy a new house, your solicitor will be responsible for conducting an environmental search of our records but there is only a very remote chance that this will raise any issues. We hold records of sites of potential concern where land has a history of potential contamination within the district. There is a charge for making a request for this information. Please contact us for further information on the current charge.